Couple pleads not guilty in cash-smuggling case

Andre Carroll Woodman and Sandra Milena Woodman pleaded not guilty on Friday to the charge that they attempted to remove criminal property, in this case $9,000 in cash, from the jurisdiction.

On 3 Aug. 2018, Sandra Milena Woodman’s sister, Yolanda Pineda, was stopped as she attempted to leave the Cayman Islands for Colombia. Authorities found $9,000 strapped to her body, the court heard. Pineda said she was transporting the money for her sister and her sister’s husband, Andre Carroll Woodman, to purchase a property in Colombia.

Charges against Pineda have been dropped. The Woodmans are now facing accusations of money laundering, however.

When interviewed, the Woodmans said the cash came from their jet ski business and provided statements of cash deposits and credit card transactions from the business, explained Defence attorney Oliver Grimwood.

The Crown is making the case that the Woodmans do not have the resources to justify the amount of cash discovered.

Grimwood questioned if the Crown was attempting to connect the cash with drug charges, after a search of the Woodmans’ home uncovered 1.2 grammes of ganja, including some dust in a glass jar and ganja stuck on the inside of a toilet bowl.

Grimwood said laying charges of possession with intent to supply in connection to this case would change the nature of the trial.

Andre Carroll Woodman is Caymanian and Sandra Milena Woodman is Colombian. Given the couple’s ties to Colombia, Crown counsel Nicole Petite suggested their passports be surrendered as a condition of bail.

Justice Roger Chapple accepted Grimwood’s argument against the surrender of their passports. As a condition of bail, the couple will be required to sleep and live at their registered residence in Grand Cayman.